The trade in heavy steel has kept place with that in other branches and armour plates, large castings for engines and ocean liners, hydraulic presses, rails, tyres, axles, stoves and grates, steel shot and steel for rifles are produced. Modern works dealing with heavy steel goods are located in the Don valley between its elbow and the town of Rotherham, near the easiest route to and from Sheffield, while cutlery and lighter metal goods are made on the higher sites to S. and W. The cutlery trade embraces almost every variety of instrument and tool—spring and table knives, razors, scissors, surgical and mathematical instruments, edge tools, saws, engineering and agricultural tools, etc. The art of silver-plating was introduced in 1742 and specimens of early Sheffield plate are highly prized. Among other industries of the town are tanning, confectionery, cabinet making, bicycle manufacture, iron and brass founding, manufacture of paper (due to the purity of the streams), printing and bookbinding, and mak ing of optical instruments, brushes, horsehair cloth, railway fit tings, chemicals and paint and varnish. The most recent develop ments are the manufacture of gramophones and needles, and nickel-silver cooking utensils which were introduced to England by a Sheffield firm in 1919. By acts of 1883-88, the Cutlers' Company exercises jurisdiction in all matters relating to the registration of trade marks, over all goods composed in whole or in part of any metal, wrought or unwrought, and also over all persons carrying on business in Hallamshire and within 6 m. thereof.
The University of Sheffield began as the Firth college founded by Mark Firth, an eminent steel manufacturer, in 1879. It was enlarged in 1892. Although it provides ample opportuni ties for a broad cultural education, the university has especially developed branches of study and research related with local industries, as, e.g., fuel and glass technology, geology and non ferrous metallurgy. It has also given prominence to dental surgery and pharmacology; and in conjunction with the university of Leeds maintains a laboratory for marine zoology at Robin Hood's Bay. With two new research laboratories for engineering and metallurgy and in its mining department, it is increasingly occu pied with research connected with local industries. Like the other universities in manufacturing districts it organises much ex tramural education amongst persons unable to be regular stu dents of the university. The social interests of the stu dents, both men and women, are well provided for, especially in their respective unions. Within recent years benefactions to
an amount over Li80,00o have been received. (See UNIVERSI TIES.) Other educational institutions include the boys' charity school (1706), the free writing school (1715), the girls' char ity school (1786), the Wesley college, associated with Lon don university, and Ranmoor college of the Methodist New Con nexion.
Sheffield has four voluntary hospitals and it was proposed in 1924 to amalgamate and extend them, utilising the old build ings as receiving wards and casualty stations and carrying on the main work in Norton Hall which was given for the purpose. A new wing of the Royal Infirmary was opened in 1925. In Meers brook Hall is a fine Ruskin museum, containing Ruskin's art, mineralogical, natural history and botanical collections and some original drawings and valuable books. These are in the custody of the corporation. Part of the manor house of Hallam, dating from the 16th century still remains, and in the south of the city is Broom Hall, a fine old half-timbered building. To the N.W. towards Penistone, is Wharncliffe, retaining many of the char acteristics of an ancient forest, and overlooking the valley of the Don from bold rocky terraces and ridges.
Until 1914, Sheffield was the seat of a suffragan bishop in the diocese of York; at that date it was created a diocese con sisting of the archdeaconries of Sheffield and Doncaster with that part of the rural deanery of Dronfield which was within the city boundaries. The old parish church of St. Peter and St. Paul became the cathedral. It is a cruciform building, mainly Per pendicular, built on the site of a Norman edifice which is be lieved to have been burnt during the wars of Edward III. with the barons. The 14th century tower is the oldest part existing. The great period of prosperity in the 19th century led to great crowding of population in the valleys and a later spread over the ridges between. The older parts of the town are still irregular and overcrowded, but under the act of 1875 a great number of improvements were effected and have been steadily continued. The latest suburb development is to the west, extending over the moors. The borough was enlarged by the inclusion of part of Tinsley in 1911, and part of Bradfield in 1914, and in 1920 powers were sought to include a large area for purposes of a bold scheme for regional devolution. The area of land incorporated in 1921 included Handsworth and parts of Ecclesfield and Brins worth, and a new ward of Handsworth was created. The old boards of guardians of Sheffield and Ecclesfield were dissolved in 1925 and a united board established. An exhaustive civic survey has been carried out and a zonal town plan prepared ; authority for applying the plan to an area of 5,909 ac. was obtained in 1925. A village with a painted fabrics industry for ex-service men has been established at Coal Aston on the outskirts of the city. In connection with the Derwent valley water scheme, for utilising the water of the Derwent and Ashop rivers, of which 25% will be used by Sheffield, the Howden reservoir was opened in 1912 and the Derwent reservoir and the service reservoir at Ambergate were completed in 1926.